Q: Define Utu (reciprocity).
Utu requires reciprocal actions or behaviors to restore and maintain balance. It is the rule that whatever one party gave to, did to, or did for another must be reciprocated with a return of equivalent or higher value, applying equally to positively valued gifts and negatively valued insults or injuries.
utu and contract law?
A: Utu, meaning correct or appropriate payment for a wrong, is a process of rebalancing and operates like contract law in terms of accord and satisfaction
Q: What were tuku whenua arrangements considered by Māori, and what did early European settlers consider them to be?
A: Māori considered them akin to conditional gifts or conditional leases. Early European settlers considered them to be contracts (deeds) for the sale and purchase of land.
What law governed exchanges between Māori and Pākehā before 14 January 1840?
tikanga maori
Q: According to Dame Joan Metge, how did Māori obtain goods and services that were lacking or scarce before settlers arrived?
A: By gift exchange (giving gifts in expectation of a return), as Māori had no money and did not engage in trade (buying and selling)
Q: How quickly were counter-gifts made in traditional exchange?
A: Counter-gifts might be made immediately or delayed for months or even years.
Q: Did articles in gift exchange have a set value?
A: No. No article had a set value, and givers never specified what or how much they wanted in return
Q: What was the relationship between generosity and mana in gift exchange?
A: Givers gave as generously as they could because generosity increased the giver’s mana, which was a primary concern for the status-conscious Māori
Q: List the six essential elements of a contract under state law.
A: 1. A clear offer. 2. An unqualified and unequivocal acceptance. 3. Adequate consideration. 4. An intention by the parties to enter into legal relations. 5. Capacity of the parties to contract. 6. A contract that is lawful.
Q: What evidence suggests that tikanga Māori adapted to common law notions before 14 January 1840?
A: Exchanges or transactions that bear the hallmarks of contracts or gifts under the common law, potentially indicating (seismic) adaptions of tikanga Māori to accommodate English notions of contract or equity. The existence of currency in Aotearoa New Zealand from the early 1800s increased the likelihood of transactions differing from traditional exchanges
Q: What is consideration in state contract law?
A: The parties must provide something of value in exchange for the promise of the other, which can be a right, interest, profit, or benefit accruing to a party, or a detriment, loss, or responsibility suffered by the other
Q: What is the “middle ground” theory concerning pre-1840 Māori/Pākehā transactions?
A: Bruce Stirling and Richard Towers argue transactions were neither wholly grounded in tikanga Māori nor wholly in English Law; instead, both parties adjusted their behavior and expectations
Q: Even after the introduction of European devices like written deeds, what concept sometimes still regulated arrangements like tuku whenua?
A: Custom still regulated the arrangements, viewing them as a system of gifting and usage rights with terms and conditions
Q: What is the business structure used by the six ahu whenua trusts in the hypothetical scenario?
A: A limited partnership
